ECAL / Baker Wardlaw – DesignApplause

Verbier mountain climbers. Design miami basel 2013.

Jun 26, 2013

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A special effort and exhibition merits special mention. Design Miami Basel hosted the reincarnation of a Swiss ski icon, the lift gondola. Throw function out (though there is a vending machine) and throw in art & design. The Verbier Mountain Climbers exhibition was conceived and managed on a voluntary basis by three young entrepreneurs from Geneva: Inès Flammarion, Nicolas Bernheim and Albert Schrurs. The project consists in collecting dismantled old ski gondolas from Verbier, and having them revisited by some of Switzerland’s most acknowledged designers and artists. Featured works by: Adrien Rovero, Anoush Abrar, Atelier Oï, ECAL / Baker Wardlaw, Yves Décoppet, Jörg Boner, Lela Scherrer, Nicolas Le Moigneand and Philippe Cramer.

inès flammarion, nicolas bernheim and albert schrurs | photo ©annik wetter

‘The gondola we are transforming for the project is a beautiful and typical example of industrial design,’ says Albert Schrurs, founder of the architecture and design firm Allegory Studio. ‘We asked the designers to give these objects a second life, as interesting and emotionally strong as was their first life. And they approached the project in different ways. The gondola was perceived as a volume, a source of material or as an emotional trigger.’

levitation | anoush abrar | © annik wetter

Verbier Mountain Climbers will be returning home to Verbier for a summer exhibition and then on to Geneva Airport for a final showing. They will then be auctioned by Christie’s with the proceeds going to the Make-A-Wish Foundation/Switzerland. [ verbier mountain climbers ] [ design miami/ blog ] @DesignMiami #DesignMiami